Dichotomy

Recently I’ve started working at another job in the mornings before I go to the kennel in the evening. The dichotomy of my two jobs is rather amusing. I go to work in the morning and get paid quite well to sit and organize materials to be placed in training kits. A sixth grader could do what I do (maybe even someone younger, but for the sake of my own pride I’m raising the bar to a 12 year old). Then I go to work at the kennel. At the kennel I sit for maybe 15 minutes out of my entire shift and the rest of the time I spend running around. I use knowledge gained by hands on experience & college courses, I create the newsletter that goes out to our customers and make sure my fellow employees are doing their own jobs. I take the inventory, handle temperamental dogs and help with any training dogs that come in. Any problems that occur are sent my way and I’m ultimately responsible for what goes on with the dogs and customers while I work. That being said, I get paid noticeably less working with the dogs than what I earn at my cushy, disassemble/reassemble job. I find this both sad and amusing. Most dog people don’t work with dogs for the money, in a lot of cases we scrimp by. But still, I can’t help but smile when a customer comes in and complains to me about their dogs boarding bill. They don’t really realize what it takes to watch over their furry friend, or what I agreed to get paid for doing so. The most common critique is “This costs more than my hotel bill.” In some cases, it probably does. But I’m usually tempted to ask them one or two of the following questions: “Does your maid hold your hand and take you to the potty 3+ times a day? Does she politely clean up after you and make sure you receive your daily exercise? Does she put up with your loud barking and your overly affectionate nature? How about that embarrassingly wet nose? (we won’t even mention the drool). Does she tolerate the bruises your bony head and elbows cause when you give your daily greeting? Or how your constant pulling makes her arm and back muscles sore? Does she listen to your whining and inspect you every day for good health? I’m also pretty sure that she doesn’t nurse you through your fear of storms or talk sweetly to you when you nervously growl or snap in her direction. If your hotel maid does all that, I can guarantee your hotel bill will be a lot more than your dogs boarding bill (and if she does do all that, where on earth are you staying?). ;) I’m not really complaining, I enjoy working with dogs (there’s obviously no other reason to do the job) but I went to work the other day and could only laugh a little at how dissimilar the two jobs requirements & rewards were. Of course, the whole reason I got another job is to help with upcoming puppy expenses. Yes, I know I’m insane. Admittance is the first step, but don’t expect me to move on to step two anytime soon.